The action continues in round 23 of the Turkish Super Lig as Antalyaspor journey to the Kadir Has Stadium to face cellar-dwelling Kayserispor on Monday.
While the visitors head into the game unbeaten in their six matches since the turn of the year, the Anatolian Star have lost each of their last eight matches across all competitions.
Match preview
Kayserispor failed to stop the rot on Thursday as they suffered a 2-0 defeat against Samsunspor when the sides squared off at the Samsun 19 May Stadium.
Turkish full-back Zeki Yavru was involved in both goals as he netted a sensational 10th-minute free kick to put the Red Lightning in front before setting up Ercan Kara in the 57th minute.
Kayserispor have now lost eight games on the bounce across all competitions, a run which has seen their Turkiye Kupasi campaign come to an end courtesy of a 2-1 loss to second-tier Genclerbirligi on January 18.
This dire run of results has been owing to their recent defensive vulnerabilities as Burak Yilmaz's men conceded 20 goals in their last eight matches, having kept six clean sheets in their eight games preceding this run.
Despite their recent drop-off in form, Kayserispor currently sit 12th in the Super Lig table, tied on points with 13th-placed Sivasspor, and could move level with eighth-placed Kasimpasa with all three points on Monday.
Antalyaspor, on the other hand, continue to push for a return to Europe as they came from behind to pick up a 2-1 victory over Sivasspor at the Corendon Airlines Park Antalya Stadium on Wednesday.
Bengali-Fode Koita continued his fine form in front of goal as he put Sivasspor in front against the run of play in the 13th minute but Adam Buksa restored parity from the spot in the 28th minute before Dario Saric completed the comeback on the stroke of half time.
Antalyaspor have now gone unbeaten in their six outings since the turn of the year, picking up three draws and three wins, including a 2-1 victory over Pendikspor to reach the round of 16 of Turkiye Kupasi on January 17.
Sergen Yalcin's side have also lost just one of their last 17 outings across all competitions — which came on Christmas Eve when they were beaten 2-1 by Adana Demirspor — while picking up 10 wins and six draws since late October.
With 33 points from 22 matches, Antalyaspor are currently sixth in the Super Lig standings, three points behind fourth-placed Besiktas in the Europa Conference League qualification spot.
While the Scorpions will be looking to pick up successive league wins for the first time since November, next up is an opposing side who they have failed to get the better of in five of their last six encounters, losing three and claiming two draws since December 2021.
Team News
Kayserispor will have to cope without the duo of Julian Jeanvier and 27-year-old defender Majid Hosseini, who are away on international duties with Guinea and Iran respectively.
Experienced forward Stephane Bahoken has missed each of the Anatolian Star's last two matches after coming off injured against Genclerbirligi on January 18 and will play no part in Monday's game.
He is joined on the Kayserispor injury table by Nigerian midfielder Antony Uzodimma, who has been sidelined since early December through a muscle problem.
Israeli striker Sagiv Jehezkel has missed each of Antalyaspor's last three matches through a club suspension and is also out of contention for Monday's clash.
Other than that, the Scorpion boast a clean bill of health and no suspension concerns, giving Yalcin the luxury of a relatively full-strength squad at his disposal.
With his leveller against Sivasspor last time out, Buksa now has 10 goals in 19 league appearances and we expect the Lens loanee to spearhead Antalyaspor's attack once again.
Kayserispor possible starting lineup:
Bayazit; Sazdagi, Attamah, Kolovetsios, Carole; Karimi, Yilmaz; Mane, Morte, Civelek; Cardoso
Antalyaspor possible starting lineup:
Leite; Yesilyurt, Sari, Ozturk, Vural; Kaluzinski, Safuri; Bytyqi, Saric, Larsson; Buksa
We say: Kayserispor 0-2 Antalyaspor
While Kayserispor will be looking to find their feet on Monday, they take on a spirited Antalyaspor side who enjoyed a solid start to the year. We predict thatYalcin's men will pick up where they left off against Sivasspor and claim all three points at the Kadir Has Stadium.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
